Houses of the Holy (song)

Houses of the Holy
Appears on	Physical Graffiti
Published by	Flames of Albion Music
Registration	ASCAP 380162485
Release date	24 February 1975
Recorded	May 1972 at Olympic Studios, London. Mixed at Electric Lady, New York.
Genre	Hard rock, rock
Language	English
Length	4 min 1 sec
Composer	Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
Label	Swan Song Records
Producer	Jimmy Page
Engineer	George Chkiantz

"Houses of the Holy" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album Physical Graffiti.

Overview

The track is a mid-tempo rock song, heavy on bass and featuring a distinctive Jimmy Page guitar riff. In order to create the layered guitar introduction and fade-out, Page used a Delta T digital delay unit. The squeak of John Bonham's drum pedal can be heard throughout the song.

Lyrically, the song is an ode to Led Zeppelin concerts, with the "Houses of the Holy" referring to the arenas and auditoriums in which the band performed. Despite this, the song was never played live by Led Zeppelin.

Although the name of the song is "Houses of the Holy," the track does not appear on the earlier-released album Houses of the Holy. It was originally set to be the title track of that album but was removed when the band decided it did not fit. The song did not require any further re-mixing for its inclusion on Physical Graffiti, having already been fully mixed by audio engineer Eddie Kramer at the Electric Lady sessions in June 1972.

Chart positions

Single

Chart (1975)	Peak position
Italian Singles Chart	27

Personnel

Musicians: Jimmy Page – electric guitar, producer, remastering, digital remastering Robert Plant – vocals John Paul Jones – bass guitar John Bonham - drums, percussion Production: Peter Grant – executive producer George Chkiantz - engineer Eddie Kramer – mixing Joe Sidore - original CD mastering engineer (mid-1980s) George Marino - remastered CD engineer (1990)